Welcome to the series of Posts from Your Archives, where bloggers put their trust in me. In this series, I dive into a blogger’s archives and select four posts to share here to my audience. This is the third post from Marsi, who with her husband Robert, embarked on a four month journey west. I will be sharing posts from their trip in addition to other posts in their archives. In this post Marsi takes us to the other Las Vegas…in New Mexico.

Prologue

The past year and a half had been difficult for us. Within the span of this time, we lost my father to a lengthy, painful illness, two beloved geriatric dogs, and both of our office jobs came to an end for reasons beyond our control. We sold our house in Tennessee, put our belongings into storage, and headed west with everything we need for four months of traveling & camping stuffed into our Subaru Outback. Our journey is not just a long vacation, but a plan for healing.

With Film Camera in hand, I Explore Quirky Las Vegas (New Mexico) by Marsi

The “other” Las Vegas is a city that has probably escaped your attention. During a quick half-day stop here in 2016, the colorful personality of this historic New Mexico mountain town drew me in and keeps me coming back.

A quiet and unpretentious little sister to Santa Fe, it is one of my favorite places for shooting film photos, and also happens to be a popular filming location for movies and TV shows. While there are not a lot of flashy tourist attractions in this Las Vegas, the city will appeal to those whose interests include:

After a year of researching and loosely planning an itinerary for an epic western U.S. road trip, my husband Robert and I sold our house in Tennessee and embarked on a grand adventure.

Our 2018 travels included thirteen national parks + several dozen state parks, national monuments, national forests, national historic areas, BLM sites, big cities, tiny towns, and everything in between. (You can check out our list of parks visited here. ) Instead of a making a set schedule, we had a very long list of destinations in mind, allowing ourselves the freedom to wander rather than have a fixed itinerary.

I created this blog to chronicle our 2018 western road trip. From time to time we’ll flash back to prior vacay and adventure spots we’ve enjoyed over the years, with some “what we’re doing now” posts thrown in too.

I also post some of my favorite film photos. If you would like to see more of my film photography, please check out my Instagram

My thanks to Marsi for permitting me to share these wonderful travel posts with you…Thank you for joining us to day and your feedback is always welcome. I hope you will visit Marsi and Robert and explore their travels further.. thanks Sally.

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About Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

My name is Sally Cronin and I am doing what I love.. Writing. Books, short stories, Haiku and blog posts. My previous jobs are only relevant in as much as they have gifted me with a wonderful filing cabinet of memories and experiences which are very useful when putting pen to paper. I move between non-fiction health books and posts and fairy stories, romance and humour. I love variety which is why I called my blog Smorgasbord Invitation and you will find a wide range of subjects. You can find the whole story here.
Find out more at https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/about-me/

Hi Jacquie! Las Vegas, New Mexico is actually in the (lush and green for New Mexico) mountains, so much cooler than most places in the Southwest in the summertime. Downtown is very colorful and quaint. It’s definitely worth spending a day or overnight there. Thanks for reading! — Marsi

I’m in Santa Fe right now! Though I must admit I love the Taos area even a bit more. New Mexico truly is the “Land of Enchantment”. The locals are friendly, the arts scene is amazing, it has the most incredible culture and history, and then there are the gorgeous mountains and high desert to explore. Do try to make the trip one day 🙂

You will love it! If you have time, I encourage you to take a half day or more to drive the Enchanted Circle (which circles Wheeler Peak, highest mountain in NM) from Taos, and make a trip out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and Earthship homes.

What’s wonderful about the Enchanted Circle is that in 100 miles you will go from high desert to thick, dark evergreen forests, Eagle Nest Lake, and old churches. The Vietnam Veterans memorial is quite moving as well, and magnificent architecturally speaking. I will be posting about my current trip in a week or two. Thanks so much for reading and for all of your wonderful comments! — M